Damaged Love
by Oceana Mist
Summary: In 24 hours Hiccup loses almost everything he holds dear to him, now he must take on his duty as chief, alone. Unable to deal with the pain he runs away with Toothless only to run into a strange girl with healing powers, but can she heal is broken heart?
1. Nightmares

**So this is my first shot at a ROTBTD FF. I know this beginning seems rushed but it's meant to be all over the place and rushed to reflect Hiccup's emotions, I know many of you will probably pick up on that but for those of you who don't please don't review saying it's rushed. It's purposeful. Enjoy! **

Hiccup stared hopelessly at the lifeless forms of Stormfly, Astrid and his father. Toothless lay badly wounded, his father's dragon no where to be found. The storm came out of nowhere, fifty foot waves crashed on the cliffs of Berk. The tornado had caught Hiccup, Astrid, Stoick and their dragons and led them god knows where. Hiccup screamed in terror gripping Astrid, they had been together since the young age of eleven and in one perfect afternoon in one perfect storm she was gone, and his father... Stoick left this world with her.

When he gained his strength he pulled away from Astrid and Stoick and ran towards Toothless who was fighting to breathe. A gaping wound dripped purple blood down his head. Hiccup grasped him and cried,

"Not you too bud, come on stay with me." Tears were streaming down his face. Toothless let out a groan on the dying would understand. Hiccup saw the rock Toothless had landed on and where he had hit his head. Not having the slightest idea how to help him, Hiccup took off his shirt soaked it in the cold salt water and applied pressure to Toothless' wound attempting to stop the bleeding. Toothless watched Hiccup helplessly, he would have let go by now, but he couldn't leave Hiccup, not now, not with his only family and his only love taken from him in a heart beat.

All night Hiccup stayed up tending to Toothless' wound, when it finally stopped bleeding and the swelling seemed to go down a bit, he got up and sat in front of Toothless who was fighting to stay awake. Hiccup put his hands on either side of Toothless' face, sure he'd lose him in a matter of hours.

"We've... we've been through so much together bud." Hiccup choked out, he wanted his dragon to be at peace. "When we first met... I wanted to kill you, I wanted to be the awesome son of Stoick -" Hiccup sucked in a breath. "- the only thing I could think to do was to kill a dragon. When I saw the opportunity I saw how you were just as scared as I was. And now I'm terrified of losing you too, but Toothless, I'll be okay bud, if you need to let go..." Hiccup lost it and put his head in his hands. Toothless' heart went out to his best friend, they were bonded for life and he had no intention of letting go, leaving Hiccup alone and heartbroken.

With all the strength he could muster Toothless nudged Hiccup and managed to lick him a little. He was trying to convey that he wasn't giving up. Not yet.

"I love you bud." Hiccup curled up in Toothless' warm body and fell asleep, there was nothing he could do anymore. He'd be useless if he was exhausted when daylight struck.

It was the worst night Hiccup had ever had... storm clouds, tornadoes, blood and death haunted his dreams.

_"Come on Hiccup, don't be a baby! When did a little rain ever stop you?" Astrid teased a light smile playing at her features as she jumped onto Stormfly. Hiccup sensed Toothless and Stormfly's uneasiness._

_ "I don't know Astrid those clouds don't look too good." Hiccup hesitated. Astrid rolled her eyes. _

_ "They look fine! Now come on, Stormfly's itching to stretch her wings." His heart melted as he saw the eager look on her face and he just couldn't say no. She stared at him with a puppy dog look on her face, he knew she'd go either way, he might as well be there to protect her. Although, Astrid didn't exactly need protecting. Hiccup chuckled and patted Toothless on the back._

_ "Fine you win m'lady, as always. I'm going to tell my Dad I'll miss 'how to be chief 101' today. Can you get Toothless' tail ready?" Astrid smiled triumphantly as she hopped off Stormfly and grabbed Toothless' tail. Hiccup sprinted to the center where he knew his dad would be waiting. _

_ "Dad?" Hiccup poked his head in... Even at sixteen Hiccup was still entirely intimidated by his father. _

_ "Hiccup! You're late!" Stoick bellowed. Hiccup winced._

_ "Actually Dad, I'm going to have to miss today's lesson..." Stoick narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms._

_ "And why would that be?" Hiccup took a sharp breath in. He had to come up with an excuse on why he'd be flying Toothless in this horrendous weather... and as often happens with Hiccup he thought of something immediately._

_ "Astrid and I have some Dragon Training we want to do-"_

_ "Dragon Training? I thought you lot finished that years ago?" Stoick asked, not quite believing his son. _

_ "No we did! We just want to uh, practice flying in harsh weather conditions... Never know when you'll be caught up in a storm, you know?" Hiccup's nerves got the better of him and his father's lesson on speaking with a persuasive tone went right out the window. Stock huffed, not quite ready to have this discussion with Hiccup._

_ "Sit down son." Stoick asked almost politely._

_ "But Dad Astrid-" _

_ "Sit down Hiccup." Hiccup sat. Stoick paced back and forth and finally came to a stop two feet away from Hiccup._

_ "Look son, you and Astrid have been spending a lot of... alone time together." Hiccup raised an eyebrow._

_ "We've always taken rides together Dad." Hiccup wasn't sure where his father was going with this._

_ "Yes, you have. But now you're older you see and you're relationship-" Hiccup's eyes widened and he stood up fast shaking his hands. He absolutely wasn't ready for this conversation, not today at least._

_ "Dad I swear you have nothing to worry about. Why don't you come with us if you aren't so sure... I know you're worried about the uh... 'weather'." Hiccup made air quotes around the word weather. Stoick contemplated it, and he was also genuinely worried about the weather so he decided to go. He thumped Hiccup on the back, almost knocking him over._

_ "Let's go then." Stoick walked out of the town center and Hiccup sighed... Astrid wasn't going to be too happy. _

Hiccup awoke with a start, he had heard footsteps, and the crack of a branch. As his eyes adjusted, he took in his surroundings for the first time. He was on a beach, right behind him was a forest, and the weather was... warm. Almost like it was summer. He bolted up and checked Toothless' wound praying he was still alive. Toothless was sleeping soundly, and as Hiccup felt his head, there was no swelling, no blood, no wound at all actually. He was confused as ever but was also so happy he could cry. He kissed Toothless' head and let the poor dragon sleep, he'd been through enough. Hiccup turned around and was met with the gruesome sight. Astrid, Stoick and Stormfly. Hiccup's heart sank into the pit of his stomach but also leapt through his throat. He couldn't breathe, he just collapsed into the sand. The only thing he could think was how he was going to get them back to Berk. Luckily Toothless' prosthetic tail had survived. He knew there was no way he could get Stormfly back.

Hiccup looked for anything he could use to dig. There was nothing. He screamed in frustration. The only thing Hiccup could do was send the dragon off to sea. He stitched together a small raft made from logs and the straps on his boot, with adolescents fading away Hiccup became stronger and was easily able to get Stormfly onto the raft and send him off to sea.

Hiccup began to feel numb. Shock was setting in. He couldn't fathom how drastically his life had changed in the past twenty four hours, and going back to Berk seemed like an impossible task. But it had to be done. His father would have wanted to be buried, properly, as a chief. Hiccup realized suddenly he couldn't bring Astrid back to Berk, that wasn't what she would have wanted, in fact he knew that wasn't what she wanted. They talked about it once.

_"Hiccup... I'm worried." Astrid mumbled as they sat on the cliffs of Berk snuggled up against Toothless. Hiccup sat up staring at her._

_ "What are you worried about?" He asked brushing some hair off her cheek. She stared him dead in the eyes and said,_

_ "You." Hiccup was taken aback._

_ "Why are you worried about me?" Astrid stood up hugging herself staring at the sea off the cliffs. Hiccup looked at Toothless in complete confusion. After a moment or so he stood up. "Astrid why are you worried about me?" He asked. She huffed and stared at him. _

_ "That stunt you pulled with Toothless today? You both could have easily died, in fact the chances of you both surviving that were slim to none." Hiccup huffed._

_ "Astrid, nothing was going to happen I was with Toothless." He put a hand on her shoulder which she brushed off._

_ "Hiccup you always say that! Toothless can't protect you from everything! One day, one day you'll misjudge a second and-" He pulled her into a hug. She had just lost her parents a year ago and all she could think of was death, she'd lost her spark of risk. She grabbed him for dear life hysterical. She collapsed into him and sat them both down, he stroked her hair. _

_ "Astrid, look at me." She looked up, her eyes screamed broken. He put her face in his hands._

_ "I would never do anything to endanger Toothless, maybe I'll misjudge the danger for my sake, but I would never misjudge it for Toothless and that you can count on. That's why I always say I'll be fine when Toothless is with me. I always make sure whatever we do, he can handle. And you know he'd never let anything happen to me." She sniffed wiping away her tears._

_ "I know." She put her hands on Hiccup's. She looked up at him. "Can you promise me something?" He wiped away a stray tear._

_ "Anything." _

_ "When I go, I want to be with Stormfly." Astrid nodded towards her sleeping dragon. It was a terrifying thought to Hiccup, the thought of Astrid... dead... he couldn't bare to think about it, so he simply agreed and held her close. He never wanted to lose her. _

Hiccup hit himself in the head. The raft hadn't quite sunk yet, He dove in the water and pulled Stormfly back to shore. He dragged himself over to Astrid and put her head in his lap. There was so much blood. He held her close and just cried and screamed. He couldn't understand how this had happened. He stroked her hair and stared at her. This was it. This was his goodbye.

"Astrid... I have loved you for five years, and I never _never_ thought we'd be apart. Unless you found someone better, which I always kind of expected. I can't imagine how I'm going to go on without you. You are everything to me." Hiccup couldn't stop the tears from flowing he sucked in a sharp breath and tried to get his breathing under control. "I promise you that I'll go flying every day to our spot up on the cliffs and I'll never never stop loving you." He closed her eyes and picked her up, he buckled under the weight of his heavy heart and Astrid's lifeless form.

Toothless had woken up and gotten up just in time to give Hiccup something to fall against. Hiccup turned around and leaned into Toothless for a moment.

"Thanks bud." He placed Astrid on the raft with Stormfly and shoved them off to sea. He couldn't stand the pain anymore and he simply fell. He screamed trying to get the pain out, but he had completely lost his voice, there was no sound left in him. Toothless let out a plasma blast to the raft and they watched their dearest friends and Hiccup's dearest love burn and sink into the ocean where they would eternally lay.

Hiccup took his sandy shirt and rinsed it off. Even in death he was intimidated by Stoick. He knew the customs of a chief's burial, he knew he had to get Stoick back to Berk. He took the blanket he kept in Toothess' sadle and covered his father. He didn't know a person was capable of crying so much.

Toothless didn't know one person could feel so much pain at once. He nudged Hiccup away from his father and curled himself around Hiccup, he so desperately wanted to keep the pain out, but he couldn't all he could do was hope his friend would fall asleep and dream a sweeter dream. Hiccup eventually drifted off into a painful sleep filled with nightmares and memories.

**I know such a sad way to start this FF, but at least it can't get any worse! Or can it... You'll have to wait and see. Review tell me what you think!**


	2. Strength

** I'm glad you all liked the beginning to this story, it didn't seem fitting to have a few happy chapters only to crush Hiccup and all your feels three chapters in. So i'm doing things a little differently, I hope you like this chapter!**

Hiccup awoke from a sleep filled with nightmares and memories. Toothless had been up for quite some time, and was finally able to stretch his legs and wings. Getting up straight away he accidentally knocked Hiccup over.

"Hey bud be careful!" Hiccup laughed, scratching the dragon behind his ears, then he saw the body wrapped up in a blanket. The realization struck too fast, too hard and Hiccup fainted. Toothless nudged him away worried sick, he couldn't lose Hiccup. Blinking slowly Hiccup took into view his surroundings, realization crept up on him like the venom of a snake, slow but effective. He stood up, tears clouding his vision. Another detail he'd forgotten about the previous night hit him, Toothless' wound... it was completely healed with no explanation. Obviously the salt water he drenched the wound in didn't have any special properties, or Astrid and Stormfly wouldn't be dead.

Hiccup walked around to see his dragon's face and held Toothless' head in his hands.

"Bud I'm so glad you're okay, but how are you okay?" Hiccup leaned his head against the dragons who was very eager to eat something but in his own way felt the moment was special as well. All of a sudden he heard voices,

"No I'm serious it was a real life dragon mother! There were a few people too I think they were sleeping. A girl and two men. Come on hurry up!" The voice of a female urgently rushed whom ever she was talking too. Hiccup's eyes widened, he was certainly far from home and there was no way he could explain Toothless... nor his father. He grabbed Stoick and laid him securely on Toothless, hopped on and flew away - night fury speed.

When the girl reached the beach Hiccup and Toothless were long gone.

"Now what was that about a dragon dear?" An old yet beautiful woman with black greying curly hair crossed her arms - clearly annoyed. The girl stopped dead in her tracks.

"But... but they were right here! How is this possible..." The old woman rolled her eyes.

"What I want to know is why you left the tower in the first place?" She was beyond angry. The only reason she came was because legend told that one sip of dragon's blood would secure eternal life, then she could be rid of this girl for good. The girl's eyes widened, she knew her mother loved her... but she also knew her rathe. She turned towards her mother carefully, with her bright green doe eyes staring right at her.

"I'm sorry mother, perhaps I was sleep walking!" She tried. Her mother narrowed her eyes.

"Well we'll have to bolt the doors and windows when you sleep - just in case." She smirked and dragged the girl off to the beautiful tower that imprisoned her.

"That was a close one bud." Hiccup sighed in relief, briefly turning to get a glimpse of the girl before they sped off. All he managed to see was yards and yards and yards of golden hair. He blinked but before he knew it they were off... heading towards Berk. "Just head north bud." Hiccup knew Toothless could fly straight on his own until they hit the cliffs of Berk. He didn't know where they were but he figured, even at night fury speed, it would take a long time to get back. So he focused his attention on his father. He couldn't say his goodbyes... that wasn't proper. Stoick would want this done properly.

"Oh Dad." Hiccup sighed. He used the blanket to take the blood stains off his face and hands. Tears rolled down his face, saying that there was a hole in his heart would be an understatement. It felt like he didn't have a heart entirely. He felt as though he was being consumed by the darkest edges of this world, yet he knew he had responsibilities to Berk, the people and dragons that lay within it. He couldn't bare to look at his father's lifeless form any more, so he focused his attention on the now setting sun. When you face death, time is no longer kept properly as your entire being is unbalanced trying to bear the weight of your heavy heart.

Finally around dusk Hiccup saw the outlines of the cliffs. Toothless and he had the cliffs mapped out in their minds, they didn't need the light of day to know how to fly. Easily skirting them he saw the torches of the town and heard the cries of the people. He closed his eyes and blinked back tears, the scrawny emotional guy he used to be? He needed to bury him... at least in front of the town. _I'll just get it out and run to Astr-_ Hiccup's heart sank the only people in this world who truly cared about him were gone, and now he had to tell everyone.

Gobber was the first one to greet Hiccup and see the gruesome sight. All Hiccup could do was stare. Gobber wanted to break down then and there, but he had to be strong, for Hiccup.

"All right ye fools get out of the way! And quiet down! Hiccup... Hiccup needs to explain." Hiccup closed his eyes and took a deep breath, one that cut the icy air into the hole where his heart used to be.

"Peo... People of Berk-" Hiccup choked out, "Tonight, tonight we say goodbye... goodbye to... Stoick, my father." Hiccup could barely get the words out he almost fainted again but Toothless was there to keep him steady. Gobber looked to Snotlout.

"Go find Astrid, Hiccup needs her." Hiccup stared up at him and shook his head tears streaming down his face, Gobber took a step back, not her too. Hiccup looked into the eyes of his dragon and that gave him some strength - however fleeting. He stood up on Toothless.

"Yesterday Astrid my father and I went flying, we needed practice in flying in harsh weather conditions. We didn't realize how bad they really were. A tornado hit us out of no where, I don't remember what happened next except waking up and seeing Astr... Astrid and my... father... dead." Hiccup couldn't take it anymore. He fainted the world for a blissful hour - went dark. No nightmares, no memories, no holes, no pain, just peaceful darkness.

When he awoke Gobber was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding water, Hiccup went to reach for it and noticed a sling around his arm. Gobber's eyes were red.

"I guess in all the commotion with the chief and Astrid... you failed to notice your own arm was broken." Hiccup grabbed the water with the other hand. All the pain flooded back to him, but with it came a bit of numbness. There were no more tears to be cried and no more screaming to be yelled. He knew he had to step up. He looked at Gobber.

"Gobber I don't know what to do. I don't know how to be a leader... I have to though. You were my father's right hand man. Help me." Hiccup pleaded. Gobber embraced him in a hug.

"Hiccup, you are a leader. More so than any of us. But I of course I'll help ya." He grabbed his shoulder protectively.

The funeral arrangements were made and executed beautifully. Hiccup had one job. To tell a personal story about his father. I twas customary that family members share something about their loved one. Chief or no chief. Hiccup and Toothless stood on the cliffs of Berk, wind howling loudly lighting off in the distance. He looked towards the ocean and a heavy weight threatened to drag him down. All he could do was draw from his heart, the best memory he had of his father.

_"Hiccup! What are you doing, you could get hurt!" Stoick chased Hiccup around the cliffs, six year old Hiccup didn't know any better and laughed spreading his arms out, the wind was blowing through his hair sun in his face the sea spray occasionally misting his gentle features. Finally Stoick caught up to him and picked him up, and sat him down on his lap._

_ "Hiccup don't scare me like that! You can't run too close to the edge of the cliffs you could fall over." Hiccup was rather tired from running around so much and snuggled up into his father's warm hides._

_ "Daddy I want to fly." Hiccup then started crying._

_ "Son why are you crying?" Stoick was terribly worried he'd upset Hiccup, he wasn't good at being a Dad, chief now there was something he knew._

_ "I want to fly but I won't ever get to! I don't have wings. It's really sad how we're stuck on the ground." Hiccup pouted. Stoick smiled, it was a simple child's wish, he knew how to hands this._

_ "Hiccup. Our bodies are stuck on earth but that's so we can make a difference! The sky and the ocean are already perfect, it's here on land that Thor and all the other God's need us to help them. But the one thing they can't keep grounded is your mind." Stoick touched a finger to Hiccup's forehead, he was staring at him in complete wonder._

"_You can expand your mind forever! To the darkest depths of the ocean all the way up in the sky to Thor. Your mind can fly Hiccup, and one day you'll be an awesome chief, and you'll be able to make a difference on land too. That way your heart can soar as well." There was never truer words to be spoken between a father and a son._

"Little did my dad know, I would get to fly. And so would he. We all would get the chance. I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. The thought... the thought of him not being here is horrific. But I know when I look to the darkest depths of the ocean and the heavens to Thor my father is in every speck of the universe watching over all of us. He's the reason we'll keep flying." Hiccup somehow managed to speak it out like a true leader. Not a speck of tears fell from his eyes. The village gained comfort from Hiccup's speech. It convinced them that he was truly fit and ready to lead them, in whatever may come.

Stoick was sent to sea that day. Astrid's name was briefly mentioned in passing. She had no family left, only Hiccup. So Hiccup had a private memorial for her on the cilffs, with Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff and Fishlegs. It was quiet, sweet and very intimate. Even Snotlout didn't crack one single joke, they saw the pain on Hiccup's face, and as their chief, they had to respect him.

Come the night one question was still taunting Hiccup. Who had saved Toothless? Whoever they were, he was determined to find them someday and thank them, they saved the one thing in the world he had left. Hiccup fell asleep dreaming of Astrid, Stoick, and golden blonde hair. Tomorrow he'd take over as chief, he'd have to put all his feelings behind him and be the strong leader his people needed. He'd do Stoick proud.

**I know so much to come, but don't get your hopes up yet, Hiccup and this 'mystery girl' won't be meeting yet. But there's definitely lots coming, I'll give you a hint... Snotlout angers Hiccup. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	3. Leadership

**I know I just updated this story but I couldn't wait to write more, as I'm afraid I may not be able to update it until Saturday or Sunday, so I wrote you guys an extra long chapter. I hope you like it! **

"Hiccup wake up!" Gobber was shaking him. He opened his eyes slowly blinking back the pain that still gripped at his heart. He yawned and threw his legs over the side of his bed noticing rather quickly that Toothless wasn't there.

"Gobber where's Toothless?" Gobber motioned towards the door.

"I let the poor thing out. Ya slept pretty late, Stoick used to get up with the sun and start his chiefly duties, ya better start doing that Hiccup." Hiccup's eyes widened. He was chief now. He had actual responsibilities to take care of. He had his three days of mourning, now it was time to shove down the pain forget about Stoick and Astrid and get on with his life at chief, at least until the night.

"What's the first thing I need to do Gobber?" Hiccup asked. Gobber raised his eyebrows.

"What's the first thing ya think ya need to do?" Hiccup peeked outside it was nearing winter, meaning they had to get their food supply up to standards to keep the village fed for the winter.

"Tell everyone to count their livestock and crops and report it back to me so I can see where we are on food for the winter?" Hiccup asked unsure of himself. Gobber smiled patting him on the back motioning towards the door. Right before he stepped outside he put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Turning around Hiccup saw Gobber holding his father's bear pelt. Hiccup narrowed his eyebrows quizzically and looked at Gobber.

"It was Stoick's he'd of... wanted you to have it. A leader down south gave it to him. Said it was the pelt of some Mordue bear or something." Hiccup grabbed it and held it close. It smelled just like his father. Hiccup closed his eyes latching it around his neck. He really was chief now. No going back. Gobber blinked back tears, Stoick was his best friend.

"Alright, I'm ready." Hiccup opened the doors and the entire village stood still. He stared at them.

"Today we need to take count of the food we have, I can feel a storm coming and we need to make sure we have enough food to harsh the winter. I need counts of all the fish, livestock and crops we have as of now. Please report them back to me by noon." Hiccup's confidence didn't waver for a second. It was easier being the chief when the village didn't look at you as the scrawny little screw up. He hadn't been that person in years. Snotlout approached Hiccup.

"What should we do...?" He motioned to Ruff Tuff and Fishlegs. Hiccup looked around there were at least ten other children at least twelve who were ready to start dragon training. He motioned for Fishlegs and Snotlout to follow him into the town center. They looked at each other briefly without Hiccup or Astrid to keep them in check they'd fight it out big time.

"I need the two of you to gather the kids who are at least twelve and start them up on dragon training." Fishlegs and Snotlout looked to each other surprised.

"Us? Are you crazy? Hiccup you're supposed to train everyone!" Fishlegs complained. Hiccup stared at them sadly.

"I'm chief now. I mean I knew one day I would be but I don't have... I don't have someone to share the responsibility with. I was kind of planning on handing over the arena to... to Astrid. But that's not going to happen now. Fishlegs you know everything there is to know on every kind of dragon. Snotlout... you're tough you can discipline the kids and keep them on the right path. I'm trusting you both not to kill each other." Hiccup looked back and forth to the two of them. The three of them stood there.

"Pft I'd be a better teacher than old Fishlegs over here." Snotlout snorted.

"You don't know the first thing about your own dragon let alone the other two hundred." Fishleg's replied. Snotlout shoved him.

"You wanna test that theory Fishbreath!" Fishlegs narrowed his eyes.

"The names. Fishlegs. Not breath. Legs moron." Snotlout's eyes widened.

"Who are you calling a moron?!" The real fighting started. Hiccup got in between both of them. He wasn't quite as strong as Snotlout so he took a shiner to the eye. Snotlout took a step back.

"Hiccup - I - I'm sorry!" He knew Hiccup was the new chief and he had to show him the same respect [fear] he felt towards Stoick.

"Enough!" Hiccup bellowed. "We all lost our chief and our good friend Astrid two days ago and you can't pull yourselves together enough to help with the new recruits? Forget it I'll find someone else to do it! Just go help count sheep or something. And make sure Ruff & Tuff stay out of trouble." Fishlegs looked down in shame, Snotlout wanted to punch Hiccup but he knew how unwise that'd be.

Storming out of the center Hiccup nearly ran into Ruff and Tuff. He briskly walked passed them not wanting to get involved. Seeing Toothless by the docks he ran down as fast as he could. Toothless would surely eat all the fish they had. The dock workers looked at Hiccup solemnly as he hopped on Toothless.

"Gallord how are we looking on the fish could for the winter?" A surprised dock worker looked up. He went over to the man with the list and ran over to Toothless looking up at Hiccup.

"We're about three hundred short from standards." Hiccup closed his eyes angrily. Since the arrival of dragons on Berk standards had doubled since many people from nearby islands wanted to live in a village protected by dragons.

"I want men readying the ships, we're going to need at least six hundred more. Standards have doubled. Gallord's eyes widened.

"Chief six hundred? That's a lot of fish to catch in a day." Hiccup realized he'd need to get the dragons to help.

"Just start getting the ships ready I'll go get Astrid and have her help me -" Hiccup stopped midsentence as his heart wrenched. "I mean I'll go get Ruffnut and Fishlegs to get some recruits to help catch the fish. Don't worry you'll get it done." Gollard walked away and started yelling orders to get the fishing boats ready. Hiccup sighed. How many more times would he make a slip like that? He knew Astrid usually helped the men fish with Stormfly so she knew Gollard well.

"Hey Gollard!" Hiccup yelled. Gollard turned around with a sad look on her face.

"Astrid uh... well she liked helping you out. I'm sorry that she can't anymore." Gollard gave Hiccup a sad nod.

"She was quite a girl." Gollard yelled back. _That she was_ Hiccup thought_ that she was..._ Wondering if he'd ever find love again.

After getting Ruffnut to grab some young recruits they'd started training a year ago to go help with the fish Hiccup flew over to the farming portion of the island. He hopped off Toothless.

"Okay bud don't eat any of the crops. We need them." Toothless looked at him annoyed and sulked away, Hiccup chuckled the first time he'd smiled in days. He looked for anyone he would know and found a young girl around age ten. He recognized her as part of the family who was basically in charge of farming for the village.

"Gert!" Hiccup walked over to her. She smiled and gave him a big hug yelling,

"Chief Hiccup!" She had a bit of a crush on him. He got down on his knees so he could look her in the eyes. Hiccup always wanted to do the right thing and look people in the eyes.

"Can you take me to your parents? I have to talk to them about the new standards." She nodded eagerly grabbing his hand and running them through the crop fields. Hiccup remembered being a little kid running through the fields. His mother and father laughing at his clumsiness.

_"Hiccup dear be careful!" His mother yelled laughing as he fell onto a sheep. He was only four so he could hardly do any damage but she was a mother and worried about her son. Hiccup laughed sitting down petting the sheep who ba'd and sat next to him._

_ "That's his dinner. He shouldn't make friends with it." Stoick huffed. His mother smiled at Stoick taking his hand._

_ "Hiccup's just a babe Stoick, let him be a child." Stoick huffed angrily. _

_ "By his age I was cracking rocks open with my skull! I swung my first axe at five!" _

_ "He's only four love. And he isn't you. Hiccup's his own person. Let him be who he is." Stoick sighed and walked back to the town center. Hiccup's mother sighed and went to pet the sheep with Hiccup who sat on her lap._

_ "Hiccup look at me son." He stared up at his mother with bright green eyes transfixed. "Promise me you'll always stay true to yourself, can you promise mama that?" Hiccup laughed and tugged at her hair. That was as close to a yes as she was going to get. "Come on love let's go calm down your Dad." She picked up Hiccup who waved goodbye to the sheep._

"Chief hiccup?" Gert's mother looked at him concerned. He shook his head snapping out of his memory.

"Yes I'm sorry, your name is?" He extended his hand shaking Gert's mother's.

"Gertrude. What is this about chief?" He motioned to walk away from the workers and Gert.

"The standards have doubled. I know it must be a lot to take in but the last my father told me you had a surplus of food." Gertrude looked absolutely taken aback.

"Yes we have a surplus but that was our payment for looking after the farming! Stoick never said anything about standard's doubling! This is because of those lousy pests dragons." Gertrude spat. Hiccup wanted to yell at her, but he had to express himself in a calm civil way.

"Actually the dragons eat fish and they can always go fishing without us storing food for them." Gertrude interrupted Hiccup -

"That's not what I mean. People are flocking to Berk because of them." Hiccup sighed.

"Do you have enough surplus for the double standards?" Gertrude narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. We do. And then some but barely more."

"Well you can keep whatever is excess from the double standard and you will of course get your share of crops for the winter. This is a hard transition for all of us. We just need to work together." Gertrude crossed her arms.

"This is the last year we overlook this farming business. Stoick knew how to get things done, not like you. What kind of a name is Hiccup anyway? Oh that's right a weak one." Hiccup wanted to scream at her but he knew he couldn't. He didn't even get the chance to say anything back. She stormed off to complain to her husband. Toothless came bounding over to Hiccup and nudged him. Hiccup jumped on Toothless,

"Come on bud let's go find Gobber." They took off in the direction of the center. Gobber would probably be there moving Hiccup's things into the house above the center. That's where his permanent home would lie.

_-3 months earlier somewhere far southeast of Berk-_

"But Da I don't want to go to the coldest place in the world just to negotiate a deal!" Merida moaned to her father.

"Merida your mother's having another baby I can't leave the kingdom, you have to negotiate it for me. I trust you lassy." Merida groaned trudging upstairs to pack her few belongings, one or two dresses (with some pants she stole from her brother's who were now her height) her bow and her father's old shirt... back in his thinner days. Before she left the room she realized how frigid Berk would be and she made sure to grab her bear fur coat. She ran into her mother's room to say goodbye.

"Merida darling are you leaving already?" Elinor sat up in bed. Merida sat down on the side of her bed taking her hand.

"Yes mum, I have to go meet with some village leader Stoick to negotiate terms of, can you believe this? **Bringing dragons** here! What are we gonna do with dragons!" Elinor chuckled.

"Your father has some bright ideas for this kingdom, perhaps he just want to keep up with this new kingdom?" Merida shook her head.

"No mum these are vikings! Uncivil vikings!" Elinor shook her head at Merida.

"Don't be so quick to judge dear. You don't quite fit the description of a typical princess. Just be nice. And come home soon so you can meet your new brother or sister." Elinor kissed Merida's head and sent her off to board the ship.

_-Present day-_

"Hiccup! I was just eh..." Hiccup looked around to see all of his things scattered across the center floor. It would be pretty hard for either of them to get the things up the stairs by themselves.

"Let me help you, there's two legs between us, plus Toothless can help us carry some things, right bud?" Toothless let out a puff of smoke, he wasn't feeling all this helping stuff he wanted to fly. Nevertheless he sensed things were changing and decided the best thing to do was stay on Hiccup's good side and help him. Then hopefully he'd take him flying.

It took about an hour or so for Hiccup and Toothless' belongings to be set up in the house above the center. It looked exactly like their old home. Hiccup breathed in the familiar smell. He missed his father. So much. All of a sudden Gallord came bursting through the center door hollering.

"Chief! Chief!" Hiccup came bounding down the stairs with Gobber close behind.

"Gallord what is it, is everything okay?" Gallord grabbed a chair trying to catch his breath, he'd run all the way from the docks.

"Yes everything's fine! I just had to tell ya Princess Merida from the Kingdom of DunBroch is here to talk to ya!" Hiccup looked to Gobber confused. He just sighed.

"Come on I'll explain on the way." Gobber rushed Hiccup and Gallord out of the house.

"Come on bud!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless came rushing after them.

When they reached the docks Hiccup saw a mess of red curls pulled loosely into a braid, the girl was wearing an oversized men's shirt and pants that fell a bit above her ankles. Arrows were strapped behind her back and she was holding a bow. She didn't look much like a princess. More like a warrior. Her eyes caught his and she stumbled backwards into a dock worker.

"Are you alright Princess?" The worker said. She kept staring at Hiccup.

"I'm fine." Hiccup was quite confused until he realized she wasn't in fact staring at him, but Toothless. She probably hadn't seen a dragon before. He pat Toothless on the side throwing him a fish from one of the barrels. Finally he walked over to her.

"You're Merida right?" He stuck out his hand. She shook it hesitantly.

"I am. You look a bit young to be Stoick the vast, from all the stories I've heard." It was like a knife cutting through his heart. He sucked in a breath letting go of her hand.

"Actually I'm his son Hiccup, we... recently lost my father in a storm, I'm the new chief." As he said that a fish from a bucket one of the dock workers was carrying fell right on Hiccup's head. Merida chuckled.

"Ah sorry chief!" The man grabbed the fish and continued on with his work.

"I'm sorry about your father Hiccup, I almost lost my mother once that was... the scariest thing I've ever been through." Hiccup completely understood.

"I lost my mother a long time ago, be grateful you still have yours." Merida's eyes widened, Hiccup the orphaned chief was the only label she could put on him.

"Gobber tells me your here to talk about bringing dragons back to DunBroch?" Merida nodded confidently. Hiccup smiled. "Well the first thing you have to know about dragons is what it feels like to ride one. Come with me." Merida followed him obediently. "This is Toothless, Merida. Hop on." She widened her eyes. He hopped on Toothless and extended her his hand. "It's just like riding on a horse, but through the air. Let me show you." _Then I won't speak, just let me show you. Please Astrid._ Hiccup's heart caught in his throat. Merida simply hopped onto Toothless.

"Alright bud, let's fly."

**Well I'm sure you guys are probably happy to see the darkness is lifting from the story. Now I know Merida's presence seems TOTALLY random but trust me it's going to be VERY important in this stories development and she'll play a major role. You'll just have to keep reading to find out what that role is ;) Review please!**


	4. Transformation

"This is amazing!" Merida screamed, the wind flowing through her already messy hair. Hiccup simply smiled. Looking around Merida saw how beautiful Berk truly was. She'd never thought a vikings home could look so, put together. As the minutes turned to hours Toothless' wings were getting tired. He landed on a cliff looking over the beautiful ocean. Hiccup thankfully remembered to bring along some fish, Toothless enjoyed his dinner as the teens talked.

"So where's your dad?" Hiccup asked, a pang hitting his gut. Merida looked out to the ocean.

"Taking care of me mum. She's having another baby." Hiccup nodded taking a bite out of the raw fish he'd brought for Toothless. Merida shivered. "How can you eat that? It's nasty..." Hiccup smirked.

"Eh Toothless and I sort of bonded this way. It's an acquired taste." Hiccup chuckled patting Toothless who burped out a fish carcass. Merida chuckled too. She missed Angus terribly. She took a good look at Hiccup. The weak name certainly didn't match the masculine appearance he possessed. Not exactly her taste though, he was too much of a dork. She did wonder if there was a girl in his life.

"So who's the lucky gal?" Merida teased as if they'd been friends their whole life. Hiccup started choking on his fish. Merida hit his back until he coughed it up. Toothless looked at him concerned.

"She's uhh..." Hiccup felt tears starting to form, and to cry in front of anyone who wasn't Gobber was something he didn't feel appropriate for a chief. He got up and walked away, hopping on Toothless. "It's getting dark we should probably get back to the village. I have to do night rounds." Merida felt Hiccup becoming distant, she simply hopped on Toothless and didn't press the issue further.

The night air was freezing and crisp. A splash of water from the frigid ocean was enough to burn the skin of any it grasped. Hiccup could feel Merida shivering behind him. He grabbed the blanket out of the satchel attached to Toothless' side and threw it back to her. He heard a splash and turned around. She still sat there shivering but the blanket was floating in the water.

"Why didn't you catch it?" Hiccup yelled.

"How was I supposed to know you were gonna throw it?" Merida yelled. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Astrid would have known." He mumbled.

"Who's Astrid?" She screamed. Hiccup shook his head.

"My girlfriend." He didn't feel like explaining the story, since he wasn't facing her he could let the tears fall at will.

"Well I'm sorry I'm not as good as your little girlfriend. Now give me your shirt." Hiccup whirled his head around.

"Excuse me?"

"Give me your shirt! I'm freezing and you're used to these temperatures."

"I'm not giving you my shirt!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless was becoming amused. It reminded him of the fights Astrid used to have with Hiccup. It gave him comfort.

"You're nothin' but a big baby!" Merida huffed. Hiccup rolled his eyes and made Toothless pick of speed.

"Hey!" Merida yelled, clutching Hiccup for dear life. Hiccup chuckled as they landed in the center of Berk. Merida jumped off Toothless and attempted to tame her wild hair.

"How is that any way to treat a princess?" Merida thought she might as well use her status to her benefit. Hiccup raised his eyebrows.

"Since when does a princess wear pants and an oversized shirt?" Merida rolled her eyes.

"Did somebody say princess?" Snotlout appeared almost out of thin air. Merida eyed him cautiously and directed her attention towards Hiccup. Hiccup mentally facepalmed. He should have locked Snotlout up when he had the chance.

"Snotlout this is Merida, princess of DunBroch. Merida... this is uh Snotlout." He bowed and smirked at Hiccup.

"Moved on so soon Hiccup? What would Astrid think?" Hiccup's temper flared. All he saw was red. He nailed Snotlout to the closest house and seethed,

"Don't you _dare_ to presume that I would do that to Astrid. You don't have the right. Don't forget your place Snotlout. I am the new chief. You follow _me_ not the other way around. Have a little respect." Snotlout shook his head.

"I'm not so sure _father Stoick_ would be so proud of you if he could see you. Half the village is going to go hungry this season and my rich family has to sacrifice everything to keep this village running. All because of your stupid judgement and you got Stoick killed." That was it. Hiccup slammed his fist into Snotlout's jaw and didn't let up. He continued to beat Snotlout to a pulp (not that he didn't deserve it) until Gobber pulled him back.

"Are ye mad?!" He boomed. The small second Snotlout had in the middle of the fight he had rammed his fist into Hiccup's eye, so hard some of the metal from his uniform had ripped the soft tissue under Hiccup's eye. It was bleeding profusely.

"He's crazy!" Snotlout got up barely phased. Although Hiccup had grown in strength, he was still no match for Snotlout.

"You watch yur mouth! He's our chief and you show him respect. I don't care _what_ you have to give up. Ye better start making the sacrifices necessary, this was gonna be done whether Hiccup or Stoick were chief. It would bid you well to know it wasn't Hiccup's idea to go flying during that storm it was Astrid's." Hiccup reeled around.

"Are you actually going to blame her?" Hiccup bellowed. Gobber sighed.

"No Hiccup, I'm just stating the facts. I'm trying to help ye." Hiccup shook his head.

"I don't need anyone's help! I am the chief now and you all need to stop treating me like I'm some sad sack weakling. We all need to make sacrifices this winter. If you don't like it, go find another village to live in see if I care." Merida couldn't stand by and watch everything fall to chaos. She ran over to Hiccup and pulled him away from the forming crowd.

"Hiccup I know yer mad. I would be too. But you have to keep yer head. You are the chief. You have to maintain order. I know you miss yer Dad. I'm assuming you're girlfriend too. But you're sacrifice is to let it go and keep everyone calm." Hiccup got his breathing under control. He felt the blood drip down his face onto his hand. He sighed and looked around.

"I'm sorry everyone. This is a hard transition for everyone. I know this is a terrible change we're going through but I need everyone's support. Is that too much to ask?" Hiccup glared at Snotlout who huffed and walked away. Everyone else mumbled that it wasn't.

"Glad to hear it." Hiccup walked over to Merida and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. It's been a rough few days. What do you say we teach you how to ride a dragon?" He smiled. She smirked.

"It's completely dark out, how am I supposed to ride a dragon in this?" She gestured to the darkness. He chuckled.

"Well the first thing you need to learn about riding a dragon is riding the _right_ dragon. I'm going to give you the book of dragons to look over for the evening, I've marked the pages of the dragons we currently have that need training and a rider. Which ever one speaks to you, let me know. We'll start training tomorrow." Hiccup reached into Toothess' saddle and grabbed the book, he handed it to Merida. She opened it and it fell on one dragon.

_Water Dragon_

_Somewhere far south in a warmer place_

"Mother I'm telling you I really did see a dragon!" Gothel rolled here eyes.

"Rapunzel please. Stop with this nonsense already. Now sing to me." Rapunzel huffed and began to sing as her hair began to glow. Gothel's wrinkles began to fade as her young appearance began to show up. Rapunzel's eyes widened as she saw frost begin to form on her window. As she finished the song Gothel got up and went to her room.

"I'll see you later Rapunzel. Be good, don't leave the tower you know." She waved her hands nonchalantly as Rapunzel ran to her window. She opened it and let the freezing air in as a boy flew inside, dragging some snow along with him.

"Hey Punzel! You wanna have a snowball fight?" He asked perching himself on her bedpost. She grabbed her hair nervously.

"Not today." He huffed.

"Come on you never want to leave the tower!" She sighed.

"Mother won't let me. It's for my own good. It's bad out there." He didn't want to have this argument with her again. She looked even more miserable then usual.

"Is something wrong?" He asked quizzically creating an ice slide to reach her. She played with her hair.

"Jack... are there such things as dragons?" He laughed.

"Of course there are." Her eyes widened excitedly.

"Oh really where? Please tell me!" She was like a small child. He adored her, she had been like the little sister he only saw once in a memory.

"This place called Berk, way up north." She huffed.

"Are there any here?" He laughed again.

"It's too warm for dragons here Punzel." He rolled his eyes.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel I need you!" Gothel yelled. Jack and Rapunzel heard Gothel's door open and they looked at each other frightened.

"See ya later Punzel! And stop singing to her will you?" Jack flew out of the tower as fast as he could. He went to visit an old friend. One he hadn't seen in a long time. _Merida._

**Guys I'm sooooo sorry this took so long. Also I'm SO disappointed in this chapter, it's short and filler and I'm sorry :( I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Leave a review subscribe if you want to be updated when I add a new chapter! **


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